


Step into the Light and Don't Look Back

by tresa_cho



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-27
Updated: 2011-09-27
Packaged: 2017-10-24 02:36:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/257964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tresa_cho/pseuds/tresa_cho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bones doesn't sneak Kirk aboard the Enterprise. Kirk is actually assigned a ship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Step into the Light and Don't Look Back

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for a fill on buckleup. I am super proud of this one. Found here: http://buckleup-meme.livejournal.com/5309.html?thread=421053#t421053

Jim stared at the broken body of Garrovick, his lifeless eyes gawking at him from the floor. The light above sent sparks showering down on him as the entire bridge shook. Jim crawled with his elbows to his captain and pressed two fingers to his throat, already knowing he wouldn't find a pulse there. The first officer was already grabbing at the captain's chair, trying to stand amidst the buffeting from the Romulan weaponry.

"Sir! Shields have failed!" the pilot shouted over the scream of electrical wires melting. "We can't take another hit!" Jim swung his gaze to the first officer, who's face was slack and his eyes were blank as they stared at the window of the hull.

"Sir! We have to evacuate!" Jim yelled, "Sir!" The first officer, now captain, was frozen in place. Kirk grunted as he hauled himself up on the navigation console. He shoved the assistant navigator aside and punched the ship's comm. "Crew, this is Cadet Kirk initiating a full evacuation of the Farragut. Proceed immediately to the emergency shuttles."

"Sir! They're not firing on the Enterprise!" Jocab shouted as the bridge started to empty. Jim pulled the captain to his feet and shoved him at one of the cadets making for the door.

"Take him!" Jim ordered harshly. The cadet blinked in surprise and continued out of the bridge, arms full of six foot nothing, terror-stiffened Federation officer. "What do you mean they're not firing!?" he roared over noises of the ship falling apart around them.

"They've stopped firing on the Enterprise! They're... They're talking with them, sir!" Jocab said sharply. "There's an open line of communication between the ships!"

Jim kept one eye on the pods escaping as he hit the all-systems communication channel. "Escaping shuttles, head towards the Enterprise. I repeat, head towards the Enterprise." He shot a violent look at the one remaining officer on the bridge. "Jocab, get out of here."

"With all due respect, cadet," Jocab said with a solemn face, "No." Jim pressed his lips together. "Not until you are safely aboard an escape shuttle."

"Fine. Let's go," Jim urged, grabbing Jocab's arm fiercely. They staggered from the bridge together, running through the ship for one last check to make sure every able body had made it to an escape pod. The floor felt like it was falling out from under him as he and Jocab leapt into the last escape pod. The door almost took Jim's legs off as it went into emergency lock down.

"Glad you could make it, sir," the pilot drawled as he pumped the controls of the shuttle, forcing it out of the bay and into open space.

"Take us behind the debris. Our heat signatures will be cloaked by the remnants of the ships," Jim suggested, clamping his hand down on the pilot's chair. The pilot nodded grimly. "Head for the Enterprise. They've stopped firing at her for some reason."

"Yessir," the pilot snapped, full concentration on the path ahead of them.

"Good job, cadet," Jocab said quietly, clapping Jim's shoulder. Jim glanced at him cautiously. "You recognised a need and filled it. Your actions won't go unnoticed."

"Thank you sir," Jim said, voice tight. He felt relief wash through him. He, a lowly cadet, had stepped over all the officers on the bridge to get something done. There was a chain of command for a reason, and going against that chain led to consequences. But, as they watched the Farragut break apart soundlessly against the bloody red backdrop of Vulcan, Jim knew he had done the right thing.

The Enterprise was a buzzing flurry of motion when Jim, Jocab, and the pilot of their shuttle docked and hopped out of the wounded vehicle. Jim caught a glimpse of Captain Pike striding through Engineering with Spock, an Asian officer, and an engineer in tow. Pike flashed a look in Jim's direction and froze. He waved to Jim, beckoning him. Jim trotted to the other captain and drew himself up, saluting. "Sir."

"Report," Pike barked.

"Captain Garrovick is dead, sir, and First Officer Richard is emotionally incapacitated. The Farragut was evacuated and its crew instructed to rendevous with the Enterprise because the hostiles have stopped their aggression." The words spilled out luckily without Jim having to speak. Pike nodded, his eyes sharp on Jim.

"Good job, Kirk," Pike said, as if he knew who gave the evacuation order. "I'm promoting you to First Officer of the Enterprise."

"What?" Jim burst.

"Captain! Forgive me, the complexity of human pranks escape me," Spock, the pointy eared bastard, monotoned beside Pike.

"It's not a prank, Spock," Pike said. "And I'm not the captain, you are. Come with me, Kirk. I'll give you a chance to practise your melee fighting." Jim barely had time to process what had happened as he followed Pike to another shuttle, one owned by the Enterprise. The Asian was briefing him as they walked on Pike's plan and the status of the negotiations. Apparently the Romulans had stopped firing once they realised Spock was on board. They were requesting Captain Pike on their vessel.

"Wait," Jim stopped the Asian (Hikaru Sulu, apparently). "Deck six was hit? Isn't that where Medbay is?" Sulu nodded solemnly.

"Medical took a lot of damage during hull breach."

Jim almost stopped breathing. Hull breach... Bones... White fuzzed around the edges of Jim's vision, and all the noise in the shuttle blanked out for a brief moment. Bones was gone. Gone.

Sulu slapped his arm, snapping him out of his trance, and forcing his lungs to take a breath. He gasped, and blinked back the haze gathering. He shook his head. Now was not the time. He would mourn later. He had a job to do. Disable the drill. Get the transporter back online.

\---

McCoy coughed violently, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. The nurse next to him didn't wait for him to grasp the bandana she held in her hands, and just wrapped it around his nose and mouth wordlessly. The smoke was thick. Dammit, why couldn't the hull breach have done something useful, like evacuating all the smoke so that he could see? He blinked furiously, smoke burning his eyes, as he bent over a severed arm.

"The Farragut's been destroyed! We're on our own!" a voice shouted over the strictly contained chaos of MedBay. McCoy barely registered what had been said. His hands went on autopilot. Jim was on the Farragut. Jim was there. Jim was gone. The mantra in his head would not quiet. He pushed it to the back of his head forcefully. Doctor Perry hadn't died to leave a fumbling, emotional mess of a successor. McCoy would remain calm, and he would finish his job.

His mind went mercifully blank as the doctor in him finally shoved aside Jim's best friend. "Dammit, Chapel! This is a Medical Bay, not a three ring circus! What are those clowns doing in here! You have a job to do!" McCoy roared at a pair of engineers who had minor scrapes and bruises. Chapel shoved them out into the hall to make room for more seriously injured crew.

\---

Jim remembered shouting, wind whipping around him, holding Sulu in a death grip, and then smacking into the transporter pad with enough force to shatter his arm. He bit back his yelp of pain as Sulu disentangled himself, rolling onto his back and trying to hold onto the small sliver consciousness.

"Clear the pad!" Spock ordered, storming into the transporter room like he was the only one on the ship. Jim pushed Sulu up and off the pad, scrambling after the navigator. His protests were silenced as Spock beamed to the planet's surface. They could do nothing but stand there as Chekov attempted to beam them back and failed to save Spock's mother. Silence descended on the transporter room. Chekov, the poor kid, looked completely torn up, and the way he melted when Sulu touched his shoulder was heart-breaking. Kid was probably on his first deployment.

"Please follow me to the Medical Bay," Spock said, his voice cuttingly chilled in the silence. The Vulcans followed him out of the transporter room without a word.

"We should probably head that way too," Sulu commented mildly, his hand still on Chekov's shoulder. "We landed pretty hard on your arm." Brought to his attention, Jim suddenly felt his arm flare with pain. It was very possible he had shattered his arm, he realised as the pain increased. He couldn't go to Medbay now... Not so soon after Bones' death. He couldn't stand to see it yet.

"I'll be right behind you," Jim agreed weakly. Sulu nodded, turning to leave the room. Jim followed him out of the transporter room and as soon as he could, ditched Sulu's back to duck down a moderately empty hall. The lights were out in the hall, and an eery silence settled over him. He moved as far down the hall as he could before rubble stopped him, and he sank to the ground, leaning against a wall for support. He panted harshly against the increasing pain in his arm and blinked furiously against tears prickling his eyes. He concentrated on the pain. Bones would be able to fix him right up, just like the time he had busted his knuckles in that bar fight off campus. And he'd grumble about it, but there wouldn't be any heat behind it. He'd slap him upside the head before wrapping a bandage, and then offer him some booze.

Jim let his head drop back against the wall of the ship, the slight bang briefly taking his attention away from his arm. And Bones would yell at him for being stupid.

"Jim!"

Kinda like that, only not as desperate.

Wait.

Jim blinked hazy pain back from his eyes and twisted his head. A figure was running at him, yelling his name in Bones' voice. Jim peered at the figure. It slid to its knees the last few feet, and fetched up against Jim's legs. Jim's eyes widened as Bones himself swept him into a rib-crushing hug.

"Dammit, Jim, don't scare me like that," Bones hissed in his ear.

"Bones," Jim gasped harshly, digging the fingers of his good hand into Bones' back. "You're alive."

"Of course I'm alive, you dumbass," Bones growled fiercely. "My ship didn't friggin explode."

"But MedBay-" Jim managed. He felt like he couldn't breathe around his shock.

"I wasn't in MedBay when we hit," Bones said, pulling back and gripping Jim's face between his hands. "I was checking stock in the storerooms when we dropped out of warp." Jim boggled at him in disbelief. Inventory had saved Bones' life.

"Oh my god," Jim hissed, twisting his fingers in Bones' scrubs. His brain was blank. He couldn't think of anything else to say. "Oh my god." The relief was crushing his chest.

"Good god, man, what happened to your arm?" Bones' eyes finally dropped to Jim's limp arm. The jumpsuit was torn, and the skin that showed was a patchwork of torrid bruises. Bones wrapped his hand around the limb and Jim hissed sharply in pain. "You've completely shattered the entire arm," Bones muttered, slipping back into his comfortable Doctor-mode. "Figures. I let you out of my sight for one second and you go and bust up your entire arm. What the hell were you doing?"

"Space jump," Jim groaned as Bones gripped his other arm and pulled him bodily to his feet. "Had to save Sulu."

"Had to save Sulu indeed," Bones repeated dryly. "Sulu is utterly fine. Until I get my hands on him, that is. Stupid navigator. You should have seen the look on his face when I asked him about you."

"We kind of need him," Jim said weakly as they staggered through the ruined ship. "He flies this tin can that you're so fond of."

Bones growled. "Just wait till I get your arm fixed up," he threatened. "We'll see who's making the jokes."

"You love me," Jim chuckled breathlessly. He was jerked to a halt as Bones froze suddenly. He found his back against the wall, Bones' hand burning on his arm. Bones' eyes locked on to his, and Jim felt as if the floor were being jerked out from under him.

"Jim," Bones breathed, voice shaking. "I thought you were dead. It was the worst feeling. To lose you like that... We weren't even on the same ship, Jim." The hand on Jim's arm shifted, cupping Jim's cheek before shifting through his sweat-soaked hair. Jim closed his eyes as Bones leaned foward, touching their foreheads together. Jim could almost feel Bones' heart try to bully its way out of his chest.

Bones shifted, and Jim felt the hot touch of the doctor's lips against his. Jim exhaled slowly in surprise, as if he had just realised something that would change the course of his day. He lifted his hand and pressed his palm to Bones' shirt, gripping the fabric tightly. He opened his mouth against Bones', and slid his lips over the doctor's. His mouth was impossibly hot, radiating into the air around them. The heat took his mind off the pain throbbing in his arm.

When Bones pulled back, Jim bit his lip, unable to keep the concern from his face. "I'm sorry, Bones," Jim said hoarsely.

"Don't apologise, kid," Bones said roughly. "Just dont' go dying on me again. The old heart can't take it." He cuffed Jim's ear affectionately, and escorted him back to the ruins of MedBay for treatment.


End file.
